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Kennedy

pushed to drop vote on mayor

The Lowell Sun

Updated:
04/07/2013 06:35:25 AM EDT

CITY COUNCILOR Rita Mercier's motion seeking a no-confidence vote in Mayor Patrick Murphy almost never made it to the floor on Tuesday night.

City Councilor Edward Kennedy, who was backing Mercier's effort, called Mercier on Tuesday to urge her to accept the apology Murphy issued and table her motion. Kennedy also re-issued his call for her to fold her cards in the cloakroom before the meeting.

Kennedy said he was seeking a solution short of the no-confidence vote because Mercier likely did not have the votes.

"If a motion like that fails, you could almost infer it is a reaffirmation of support for the mayor's action," Kennedy said. "I poured a significant amount of time into trying to find a solution that would be in the middle of the road in order to get the point across we are not satisfied with the mayor's actions, but without the spectacle."

Kennedy also said he called mayor's aide Jennifer Myers before the meeting to ask her to put Murphy's apology on the desks of all councilors. The apology was posted on a local blog, and Kennedy said everyone needed to be aware of it.

The apology ended up being cited primarily by those arguing against Mercier's motion.

Kennedy says he was pleased with the compromise: Directing Murphy to meet with the Greek community and apologize for actions that may have offended them. He credited Mercier for her courage to bring forward the no-confidence motion.

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Mercier told The Column she was surprised that Kennedy ensured the mayor's apology was circulated, and not Murphy himself.

"He did not have the common respect to have it put there on his own, he had to be told to do it at the 11th hour," Mercier said. "That says a lot."

THE DISCUSSSION of Mercier's motion prompted more commentary from Councilor Bill Martin than on any other topic in months, including investigations into the parking and water departments.

A fired-up Martin criticized the push for a no-confidence vote. "We can talk about democracy and how much we all champion democracy, yet we have a democratically elected mayor here and this whole process is doing nothing except belittle and diminish the office, belittle and diminish the city and belittle and diminish the process by which the mayor is chosen," Martin said.

He also said the motion was not hitting its intended mark. "It is meant to be embarrassing to the mayor, but the net result is it is embarrassing to all of us," Martin said. "It should not be tolerated."

Martin, like residents who spoke in support of Murphy, acknowledged the mayor has made mistakes and said he will have to account to those he has offended.

But he said disunity on the council can't solely be blamed on Murphy, whom Martin said has had "councilors nipping at his heels" since a 5-4 vote to make him mayor.

Councilor Vesna Nuon, another Murphy supporter, also was more animated than usual. He hailed Murphy for his work to bring a broad cross-section of the city into the political process and said Murphy has accomplished "way more" on the council in three years than others.

Nuon, who says he is leaning toward running again, said Murphy was slow to apologize for a reason; Murphy and his wife welcomed their first child last Sunday.

Rodney Elliott, who lost to Murphy by one vote in the mayor derby, was most critical. Elliott said Murphy should resign to save the city from further embarrassment and criticized him for maligning councilors' maturity and productivity.

"Whether it is disparaging blog posts on our positions on the issues, inappropriate comments at events or complete contempt of the Greek community, I don't think we need any more reasons to conclude he should not be in the position anymore," Elliott said.

Councilor Marty Lorrey criticized Murphy for missing ceremonial events without notice, and said he was ready to stand with his Greek friends. He proposed the compromise.

New father Murphy missed the meeting. Joseph Mendonca, who chaired the meeting, and Councilor John Leahy remained quiet.

Mercier says she is pleased with the end result.

There was also some opposition to her motion seeking to have the council sign off on the removal of all historical items from City Hall, so it was sent to the facilities subcommittee.

THE MAYOR'S response? If someone wants an apology, they can come to my office. Here is the text of the memo Murphy included in this week's Council packet:

"I understand that my statement of last Tuesday morning had not been seen by all the councilors in time for Tuesday night's meeting. I would have preferred to address these issues in person last week, but circumstances which are private precluded me from doing so. Nonetheless I would, in response to this motion, refer you to the relevant passage of that statement:

"As it has been my honor to represent you both as a councilor and now mayor, I have sought to make the most of your trust in me. As a fellow human being, I have come up short again and again. Mostly I am not interested in the pomp of the office or in becoming a great politician, but have been focused instead on becoming a better policymaker. Having endured a lot of nonsense over the last year, I certainly regret times where I might have been outspoken about matters not directly related to policy. I have a straightforward style that I should not have let stray from what matters most. Many who know me can also understand that while I take my job very seriously, I try not to take myself too seriously and if, in the latter case, my actions or comments have offended any of you, I sincerely apologize.

"Thankfully, Spring is here. The Lenten season has only recently come to an end. And in that spirit of forgiveness and renewal, the city needs us to move on to more important issues than these. We are part of this larger family, where we must respect and resolve differences in order to move forward."

"While I understand that no ethnic community is homogeneous in thought or philosophy, I wish to specifically extend this apology to members of the Greek community who took offense to the use of a bust of Pericles in a poorly conceived joke poking fun at a falsely reported story. I had not considered the impact on some who might not have even been privy to the Sun's controversy, and should not have given any fuel to its fire. I in no way intended to make light of the contributions of Greeks to life in Lowell and this country, nor did I seek to denigrate the importance of Pericles in our collective traditions. In fact, I have celebrated them, ending my inaugural speech as mayor with a quote from the Athenian oath during the time of Pericles: "We will transmit this City, not only not less, but greater and more beautiful than it was transmitted to us."

"As always, I have an open door policy at City Hall for those who wish to more fully discuss their concerns, either during office hours on every Tuesday from 2 p.m. until the Council meeting or by appointment at a more convenient time. Throughout my term, I have used this time to listen to resident issues and attempt to find suitable resolutions. I can see no reason that this issue cannot be resolved in the same respectful manner."

WERE SOME of Murphy's backers present because he supported Democrat Elizabeth Warren? The first resident to speak, Geoffrey Feldman, mentioned that he was a Warren volunteer. At least one other speaker mentioned ties to Warren.

Mercier very publicly broke ranks to back then-U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, a Republican. Feldman said Mercier spoke well about democracy, adding she and others may be on the receiving end soon.

"I think you're going to see it tonight and you are going to see it in November," Feldman said.

Mercier said she felt some speakers were taking out their anger with her endorsement of a Republican. But Mercier did seem to channel Brown when she said the council chamber was not the councilor's room but the public's room, and said the mayor's reception room should be called the "People's Room."

WHILE DEMOCRATIC candidates for the U.S. Senate will face off at UMass Lowell Monday night, Republican counterparts plan to indulge in fine wine nearby.

Rep. Dan Winslow, R-Norfolk, and former U.S. attorney Michael Sullivan are scheduled to attend the Groton Republican Town Committee's "An Evening with Republican Candidates and Fine Wine Tasting," at Stonehedge Inn & Spa in Tyngsboro, starting at 7 p.m.

They will be joined by Sheila Harrington, R-Groton, and former Groton Rep. Robert Hargraves. The third candidate, Cohasset Republican Gabriel Gomez, was invited but has not confirmed.

Owned by Groton residents Levent and Dawn Bozkurt, Stonehedge Inn is known for its extensive wine collections and a subterranean cellar. A minimum donation of $30 covers wine tasting and light hors d'oeuvres.

LOWELL NATIVE Stephen Crane is Longmeadow-bound. The Republican newspaper, of Springfield, reported this week that Crane, son of Patricia and John Crane, has been chosen as Longmeadow's town manager, a $115,000-a-year position.

Crane, a former employee of the Division of Planning and Development, beat out two other candidates.

Board members Marie Angelides and Mark Barowsky strongly supported Crane, citing his diverse experience and background in planning and development, a major responsibility of the town manager. The third board member, Chairman Paul Santaniello told the newspaper he wanted a candidate with more experience, but added, "After speaking with Mr. Crane, I think he will do just fine once he gets the hang of things."

Crane, who has a master's degree in public administration from George Washington University, said moving to Longmeadow would bring him closer to home.

"I'm originally from Lowell and my wife and I were looking to come back to the area," he said. The couple has 8-year-old twins, and Crane said he was very impressed with Longmeadow's school system.

Crane left Lowell's DPD in November 2006 to work as Worcester's special projects coordinator. He remained there for several years until he picked up a town manager's job in Wisconsin.

FACING FOUR of his would-be bosses, the unsuccessful candidate for the Lowell High School headmaster position was asked about his relationship with central administration.

Joseph Diorio has been on leave from Saugus High School since Dec. 18. His unexplained absence caused a stir among students leading to many of them posting fliers for their "missing" principal around town and starting a #FindDiorio hashtag on Twitter. Administrators did not explain Diorio's absence for weeks.

Diorio took the opportunity during his interview Tuesday night with the superintendent, deputy superintendent and two assistant superintendents to explain his side of the story.

"Currently it's still rough," Diorio said of his relationship with Saugus administrators. "In years past it's been outstanding."

Diorio explained the district hired a new business manager, who he said did not effectively communicate practices and procedures. He said he wasn't being forced out.

Superintendent of Schools Jean Franco picked Brian Martin, the former city manager and mayor. She said she didn't spend a lot of time looking into Diorio's background.

MARTIN SPOKE about his dedication to the city and to school in his interview.

"I was explaining to my son the other day that I've never quit on Lowell," he told his would-be bosses. "I've been through a number of positions, run for office. I've lost. I came back. I applied to be a city manager. I lost. I came back. I applied to be the headmaster; I didn't get an interview. I think Mike Cassidy (director of human resources) could see I did have my credentials, I just didn't have the document in front of me, but nevertheless, I didn't walk away."

LAST WEEK'S election in Chelmsford did not necessarily mark the end of public service for officials now out of office or candidates who weren't elected.

Selectman Jon Kurland, who did not seek re-election, said he's still interested in doing something "less labor-intensive" but isn't sure what. He has served on the Finance Committee, but said he's not likely to return and is considering his options.

Patrick Maloney, who came 56 votes shy of winning a selectman's seat, remains a co-chairman of the Permanent Building Committee. Minutes after finding out he fell short in the election, he cited projects like the new Billerica Road fire station, public-works building on Alpha Road and Chelmsford Country Club renovations that he'll help oversee. "I still have some work to do for the town," he said.

Bob Joyce still has two years remaining on Planning Board term. He said he "probably will not" run for selectman again.

Roland Van Liew, who fell short in votes for selectman and Town Meeting representative, said he wasn't sure right away how active he'd stay in town matters.

NEW PELHAM School Board member Carl Wiswell received a welcome Wednesday that reminded one observer of a reception that say, a civilian medical doctor might have received upon disembarking from a U.S. Marine transport plane in South Vietnam circa 1967.

"So, you ready for this?" acting Superintendent of Schools Amanda Lecaroz greeted Wiswell, handing him a packet of information and taking down his cell number.

Wiswell would be quite familiar with the genial, yet military-style reception. Wiswell, 43, is retired from a 20-year Air Force career in which he served as a linguist (he speaks Chinese) at worldwide locations, including in Germany and Saudi Arabia.

Wiswell was stationed in Saudi Arabia on Sept. 11, 2001.

"It was very strange to be there in Saudi Arabia while they were attacking us here (in the United States)," said Wiswell, a five-year Pelham resident.

This week's Column was prepared by Editor Jim Campanini, Enterprise Editor Christopher Scott, Lyle Moran in Lowell, Hiroko Sato in Lowell and Tyngsboro, Grant Welker in Chelmsford and John Collins in Pelham.

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